Library Foundation of Los Angeles

hjk

I am not failing this foundation for the beautiful building that houses the Central Library, or for the friendly staff that you go to when the wi-​fi is on the fritz. Maybe this should be a review of Los Angeles itself, but I digress.
I’ve gone to the Central Library on occasion to print something, and to use said Wi-​fi in this amazing building in the middle of Downtown. I wish I could say I enjoyed spending time here.
My rating is based on the overabundance of homeless people camped out inside. On Thursday, there was one man who was either completely cracked out, or just completely insane, talking to who knows what and circling the area I was sitting in.
I go to use the bathroom, and the smell inside was almost (actually, it may have been) toxic from the man taking a sink bath and using the hand blower to dry off. There was no smell of soap.
This could be one of the most amazing libraries in the country, but it doesn’t feel like a place of information. Instead, it feels like a homeless shelter/​detox unit/​insane asylum.
There has never been a day that I have gone to this library and these types of things have been absent from the experience.
I honestly do not know how to fix this as Los Angeles does not seem to care about it’s people, and there are so many people in these states of being.
Libraries used to be places of quiet for someone to explore the abundance of knowledge inside. I do not find that here.

Become a member! LA has an excellent library system. Support it. There is also an excellent gift shop at the Central Library that supports the system.